Greybar Concerns
by mayzee
Summary: Warning! Spoilers for Season 7! Jane's worries about Lisbon when she is asked to take part in an undercover operation. Short multichapter. Reviews, as ever, are much appreciated. Finally complete!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just my thoughts on what 7.02 might be like (but will probably be nothing like it!). It'll be a few chapters long. My aim is to get it finished for Thursday morning before the episode airs in Canada. Hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist, the wonderful Bruno Heller does.**

* * *

Greybar Concerns

Abbott walked into the bullpen as Lisbon sat at her desk, Jane lying on the couch behind her, his eyes closed.

She glanced up at Abbott as he approached before putting her head back down. She presumed he was here to see Jane, to tell him off for pretending to sleep during the day or to get his help on a new case. She was surprised when he stopped in front of her desk and she raised her head again.

'Lisbon, I have an undercover assignment that I need your help with, up for the challenge?'

She heard Jane turn his head towards her back and could imagine his raised eyebrows as he asked, 'We have a new case, Dennis?'

Abbott glanced at him briefly before turning his attention back to Lisbon. 'Yes. Lisbon, information has come to light on the name of a head of a car theft ring. But we don't have the proof we need to prosecute.'

As Abbott spoke, Jane moved from his couch to stand beside her.

'Why are you talking to Lisbon about this?' he interjected.

Lisbon glared at him and he realised the interpretation behind his words. He stammered, 'I mean...not that you shouldn't speak to Lisbon but...why not the whole team?'

She rolled her eyes at him and looked back at Abbott. 'What can I do to help, boss?'

Abbott replied, 'We need his girlfriend to turn on him. From the information we've obtained so far we're confident that she knows about his involvement in the operation and can point us to the proof that we need.'

Jane studied Abbott and frowned. Something was wrong with this situation. Lisbon was a superior agent but these kinds of problems where persuasion was necessary were normally his area of expertise.

Abbott added, 'The only problem is that she is currently in prison on an unrelated crime. She has a few months to go and we've heard that the gang her boyfriend runs is planning a major operation in the next few weeks.'

Lisbon replied, 'You've offered her a deal I presume already to cut short her time.'

'Yes, we have but so far she's standing by him. She won't fold. So, I thought a fellow inmate may be able to change her mind. As you'd expect, she's distrustful of cops or any kind of law enforcement.'

Jane moved forward a little, a frown line between his eyes. 'You want Lisbon to go undercover in a prison to get this woman to co-operate' he stated, a glimmer of hesitation in his voice, hoping he had come to the wrong conclusion.

Abbott nodded before turning his attention back to Lisbon. 'So, Agent Lisbon? Think you can make a convincing criminal?'

Lisbon replied, 'Absolutely. Just give me an hour to go over the information we have so far.'

Jane's head turned sharply towards her making her look at him. 'We should talk about this before you agree to anything' he said to her, the line between his eyes more pronounced.

Abbott raised his eyebrows towards her. Jane and she were still keeping their relationship a secret but they both suspected (knew in Jane's case) that Abbott was more than aware of the change between them. She had to show that she was still a FBI agent at the end of the day and not just Patrick Jane's girlfriend.

After a quick glance at Abbott she said to Jane, 'No, we don't. It's my decision.'

Jane shot her a withering look and shook his head. 'Lisbon-'

'Jane. I'm more than able to handle this.'

She turned back to Abbott, pretending to disregard the mixture of worry and anger stretched across his features. 'I'm in' she stated.

At the sound of those words Jane stormed off to the break room.

* * *

She found him a few minutes later, sipping a cup of tea with his back to the counter. He raised his eyes when he saw her before taking another sip.

'Jane, what the hell was that all about?'

'We're a couple aren't we now, a partnership? If you're going to put yourself into a position where harm could come to you don't you think we should discuss that first, Teresa?'

She rolled her eyes. 'Jane, harm could come to me every day in this job. You've always known that.'

He nodded, sighing. 'I know but that doesn't mean you have to volunteer where that is more likely to be the case.'

She raised her eyebrows to him. 'Seriously? After all the times you've put yourself in danger, you're throwing that back at me? A little hypocritical, don't you think?'

Jane put his cup down and shrugged before looking her straight in the eyes. 'Yes. Immensely hypocritical. I agree. But I can't help the way I feel.' He looked down to the ground, his shoulders sagging.

She moved a little closer to him and said quietly. 'Look, I get it. Your need to want to protect me. Your fear of something happening to me...It's...only natural that you'd feel that way, especially now. But you're being over protective, Patrick. Even on the last case when Spackman was telling me off for whining you jumped to my defence. I admit I was flattered that you did at the time; it was nice you sticking up for me like that but I don't need you to fight my battles for me every time. Just because we're together now I'm still my own person and more than capable of fighting my own. And of making my own decisions where my career is concerned.'

He nodded, looking around to make sure they were alone before touching the edges of her jacket and pulling her a little closer. 'I know that. Look, it's not that I don't think you're capable of doing the job. And I apologise if I came across as some kind of chauvinist jerk telling you what you should do just because we're together now. I'm...I'm just worried, that's all.'

He exhaled loudly. 'But...you're right. You should do what you want to do. I'll be fine with it once I've got used to the idea.'

She glanced around and bit her lip before kissing him quickly on the lips. 'I promise I'll be careful.'

He nodded. 'I'm going to miss you.'

She smiled, 'I'm going to miss you too.'

'Just watch yourself in there, please. Just get the job done quickly and come home to me safe.'

She grinned when he used the word 'home'. They weren't actually living together but he stayed most nights with her since they got together and it was the first time he'd referred to her place as their place.

'Will you visit me and bring me a blueberry muffin?' she said, smiling.

He nodded, flashing her a dazzling smile. 'Of course. And I won't settle for cranberry like you did.'


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who took time to review the first chapter, it means the world to me.**

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Chapter 2 - Incarceration

As Lisbon went over the notes on the case Jane sought refuge in the Men's Room. After checking the stalls to make sure he was alone he exhaled loudly, pacing the floor in front of the sinks. He had meant what he said, that it was up to her to do what she felt she needed to do but it didn't stop the fear taking hold of him. He splashed water on his face, trying to rid himself of the cold clamminess that was overtaking his body. He hadn't expected to face the thought of something happening to her that he couldn't control or have any part in so soon after she went back to work. He had hoped he could acclimatise to this shift slowly, to have more time to enjoy the wondrous moments he was experiencing with her without the overtone of uncertainty and danger their jobs involved.

He began to take measured breaths to calm down. He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head. This was why he had kept her at arm's length for so long. This precise fear. But it was too late for that now, he was too far in. He took a little comfort in the fact that he had effectively been too far in for much longer than the last few weeks but now even more so. The love he had for her wasn't a fantasy or mere wishful thinking any longer. Now it was something tangible. Now he knew what it felt like to fall asleep with his arms curled around her. To listen to her talk incoherently in her sleep, smiling when he heard his name at times, knowing she was dreaming of him. To wake up to the scent of her, her hair curled and tangled across her face. To see the love in her eyes for him when she woke up before she muttered something about needing coffee. To delay the coffee she craved by making love to her instead. To experience the passion she had for him. To feel her hands caress and her fingernails scratch his back. To see her smile at the smallest of romantic gestures. To see her look at an origami swan he made for her out of an empty bag of pecan nuts like it was the most expensive gift in the world.

He sighed and felt his heart rate begin to settle. He knew he was being emotional and irrational and all those other emotions that were part and parcel of being in love. He understood that there was a high percentage of nothing happening to her during this operation. He knew she could more than handle herself with people twice her size but what if it wasn't just one person, what if there were more involved. Abbott had assured her that her cover was intact and that there were no inmates in the prison she had ever incarcerated but that didn't prohibit a random act of violence.

He stretched his shoulders. The last thing she needed was a nervous wreck. If she saw him upset and became worried about him it might compromise her actions and put her off her objective. He had to, as the expression went, 'man up'. He plastered on a convincing and placid exterior and went back to work.

* * *

When he saw her in her orange jumpsuit he grinned. She rolled her eyes at him.

'Don't start' she warned him.

He kept grinning as he walked closer to her. Her hair flowed around her shoulders in unruly curls, reminding him of when she first woke up. Abbott was due to come into the meeting room any minute to take her to the prison so he knew he didn't have much time. He put his arms around her waist and dropped a soft kiss to her lips. 'You're going to do great.'

'Any tips? You're a veteran at this kind of thing' she replied, smiling, putting her arms around him but keeping an eye on the door.

'Um...let me think...be as far removed as your honest self as you can be.'

'So act like you, huh, be devious and pretend nothing affects you?'

'Precisely, just leave the arrogance aside. It takes a while to master that part.'

She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling his head down for another kiss. Jane deepened it and slid his arms further around her waist. He began to kiss her neck, smiling when he felt her heart race before pulling back, a little breathless and flushed himself.

'I think you're finding your part already, breaking your own rules and making out with me in a FBI building.'

She blushed and laughed just as Abbott walked in. She let go of his waist but Jane continued to smile at her, raising his eyebrows to her but removing his own hands.

Abbott ignored the obvious behaviour that had been going on before he arrived. 'Alright Lisbon, ready to go?'

She nodded. 'Yes, boss, all set.' She stood with her shoulders back, her demeanour back to FBI agent again.

Jane stated, 'I'm going to ride along with you both to the prison.' Lisbon looked at him, surprised, they hadn't discussed this but it sounded like he had made up his mind.

Abbott nodded. 'I expected no less.'

* * *

As they got to the gates of the prison Abbott got out of the car, leaving them alone for a couple of minutes while he discussed the logistics of the operation with the prison governor and the guard that was going to take her in. To ensure her cover was kept under wraps these were the only two people employed by the prison that would be aware of her real status. All other guards and staff at the facility would treat her just like any other inmate.

She got the handcuffs Abbott had tossed to her and began to put them on.

Jane saw her hands shake a little, anxiety of being involved in this finally getting to her. 'Here, let me' he said softly, taking the cuffs and putting them on her.

He smiled at her and said, 'I'll wait for you, my little jailbird', trying to make her relax with a joke. He ran a finger down her cheek and gazed into her eyes. 'I love you, come back to me in one piece' he said more seriously but still smiling.

Abbott peered into the car. 'Okay, Lisbon. We're all set.'

As she walked into the gates she glanced back at Jane and smiled. He smiled back at her, nodding to her that he was fine. As soon as she turned around his face dropped and he swallowed.

Abbott was standing at the back of the car when he turned around. 'She'll be fine, Jane.'

Jane replied, his gaze intense, 'She better be' before getting back into the car.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Visiting Time

Jane waited for Lisbon to arrive as he sat facing a glass partition. At least this facility didn't mean he had to use the telephone to speak to her. He fidgeted with his wedding ring and tapped his foot on the floor with impatience. He passed the time studying the other inmates talking with their loved ones around him. Then she arrived and a grin spread across his face. She smiled at him, blushing slightly before taking a seat opposite.

'Hey' she said, 'Where's my muffin?'

He grinned again and produced a white paper bag and motioned for the guard to come over. After checking its contents she put it in front of Lisbon. She opened it and frowned. 'There's a chunk missing from one of them.'

He shrugged. 'You only asked me for one muffin and you got one and a half. I got hungry on the way here.' She smiled and closed over the bag, leaning forward in her chair.

He mirrored her movements and spoke softly. 'How are you?'

Lisbon nodded. 'I'm fine. It's a little weird to be on this side of the fence but so far it's been okay. My cellmate is pretty harmless. It's kind of sad, she's just a teenager who got mixed up with the wrong sort of people.' She shook her head. 'I don't know how she's going to cope if she doesn't toughen up soon.'

Jane nodded. Trust Lisbon to have found a waif that she felt she had to look after. 'Have you spoken to the girlfriend yet?'

'A little. I don't want to come on too strong or she'll smell a rat. But I'm going to be working with her in the laundry so I'll get more of a chance later today hopefully.'

'If I'd known that I'd have brought a couple of my shirts in' he grinned.

'Yeah, right. So, what did you do last night?'

He shrugged. 'Oh, not much. The house was pretty quiet so I went back to the office to go over the case.'

She raised her eyebrows. 'Tell me you didn't sleep at the office.'

'I didn't sleep at the office.'

'You did, didn't you?'

'Ah...yes I did.'

'So then why did you tell me you didn't?'

'Because you told me to tell you that.'

She rolled her eyes and grinned. 'Jane, I thought those times were over.'

He shrugged. 'It was too quiet and the bed was too...cold.'

She smiled at him. 'I missed you too.'

He sighed as the bell rang a little while later. 'I'll keep working the boyfriend angle, see if I can come up with something to spring you out of here.'

'Just don't do something that means I'll be the one sitting on that side.'

* * *

A day later they were no further ahead with the investigation. Jane couldn't concentrate properly at the time he needed to be at his sharpest to come up with a plan if Lisbon couldn't get this woman to co-operate. As soon as he saw Abbott out of the corner of his eye he knew something was wrong and jumped off the couch.

As Abbott approached and opened his mouth Jane said, 'What happened to her?', sheer panic in his tone.

'She's okay, Jane. There was a little trouble but-'

'Let's go' Jane interrupted, halfway to the elevator before Abbott could respond.

* * *

Jane and Abbott waited for her in a room off the doctor's office in the jail. Jane glared at Abbott and had barely said a word to him on their drive there. Abbott had told him that a fight had broke out and that Lisbon was involved but that the doctor had checked her out and released her back to the prison. When Abbott had informed him that one of the other inmates had ended up with a broken nose he had inwardly smiled surmising how that had come about.

She was brought into the office by the guard who knew her real identity. Before Jane could speak or go towards her she held out her hands to stop his approach and said, 'I'm fine, Jane. Just a couple of bruises.'

She turned to Abbott. 'Didn't you tell him I was okay?'

'I'm sorry but have you met Patrick Jane, Lisbon?' he replied, a smirk on his face. He nodded to her, more seriously, 'How are you?'

She shrugged. 'I'm fine. It was nothing much.'

'Is your cover still intact? Do we need to pull you out of here?'

'No, I'm good. I've made some progress with the girlfriend. I think this fight helped a little to be honest. She liked the fact that I stood up for myself.'

Abbott nodded, 'Okay then.' He looked at Jane who was staring at her, a frown on his face. 'I'll...I'll leave you two to say goodbye then. Just...just don't be too long about it. I'll wait outside.'

After he left and they were alone Lisbon approached Jane and put her arms around him. 'I'm okay, Patrick. '

He couldn't speak for a moment and just held her, breathing in her scent and kissed her hair. It was only when he felt her stiffen a little he released her, realising he was hurting her. 'How bad are the bruises really?'

'Just around my ribs a little. They're not that bad, seriously, okay? Certainly less painful than a gunshot.'

He rolled his eyes. 'What happened? How did you get involved?'

She shrugged and he gave her a warning glare. 'The truth.'

She sighed. 'My cellmate was getting a little aggravation so I stepped in to stop it. That's all it was.'

He shook his head. 'Jesus, Teresa, you're supposed to be in here for one reason only, not to feel sorry for every hard luck story you come across.'

'And what would you have done, huh? Left the girl to get the beating of her life?'

He sighed, knowing he would have undoubtedly found a way to intervene himself, just not through such direct measures.

He put his arms around her again, more loosely to make sure he didn't hurt her. 'Maybe I should be the one to make that superhero costume for you instead.' He kissed her softly on the lips.

'Trying to dress me up again, huh?' she smiled, kissing him back.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Final chapter!**

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Chapter 4 - Release

When Lisbon called Abbott to give him the location of the boyfriend's gang a day later having made progress with his girlfriend he made the mistake of informing Jane before they could mobilise forces. When he found Jane missing a half hour later and wouldn't answer his calls he knew he had gone there alone without informing the team. Abbott shook his head as he drove with a hastily put together makeshift team to the location, reproaching himself for his poor lack of judgement.

Abbott had noticed the difference in the man since that fateful night in Miami. He was more unpredictable than ever. He was obviously happier at work than he'd ever been (as long as Lisbon was at the office or beside him) and Dennis, a romantic at heart but also a pragmatist, hoped that this new type of coupling between them would achieve two goals. First he was pleased that the two people he had met at the CBI had finally admitted the truth to each other of how they felt. It was apparent to him the first day he'd met them, only backed up by the letters he'd intercepted. When he had offered Jane his deal then and Jane had rejected it straight away saying he was done with that life and had moved on Abbott had bit his tongue, holding back a retort that, if that really were the case, then why was he writing to Lisbon still, two years after leaving that very life.

Secondly, he had hoped Lisbon's influence would keep Jane in line better, not for the FBI but to keep her happy. But, as usual with Patrick Jane, things hadn't quite worked out like that. In the Geist case with Spackman, he had quickly disobeyed the man's orders and blew Geist's cover within minutes after arriving at the bowling alley. That hadn't surprised Abbott when Cho had filled him in on what had happened. What had surprised him was that it only happened after the man had insulted Lisbon.

Whilst Jane tried to keep the facade that he was working normally over the last few days, Abbott had seen the cracks, even before Lisbon was injured. He had a new restlessness that wasn't there before. Over the last few days his mind wandered on occasions and was off his game somewhat. He seemed to be getting bored by some of the work, not challenged by it. Abbott hoped that this was some type of honeymoon period adjustment. When he and his wife had first met, work had taken a backseat then too and Jane and Lisbon had over a decade of baggage to sift through to find a way of working through this new dynamic. He hoped Jane's sudden lack of interest wasn't an omen of things to come and that, once Lisbon was back by his side, he would turn back into the consultant he had hired.

* * *

Jane waited outside the jail for Lisbon's release. He wondered how much she knew about his part in taking down the boyfriend. He hoped nothing other than the fact that they had got him. He would keep her in the dark as long as possible, knowing he was in for a lecture when she learned of his rash actions nearly resulting in him getting killed.

When he saw the grin on her face as she walked out of the gates he knew he had some time. Abbott had given them the morning off and he intended to make full use of it.

'Hey' she beamed.

'Hi.'

They embraced, Jane remembering the bruises and clutching her around her arms instead of her waist. He breathed in and dropped a kiss to her hair, still in loose curls.

'Breakfast?' he offered.

'Shower first' she replied.

* * *

As they got back to the house Jane opened the door for her. It still made his heart sing a little every time he opened the front door to her house with the key she'd made him. Lisbon collected the mail, sorting through it before placing it on the hall table.

She stretched and yawned as he made her coffee and tea for himself. 'So, what did you do?' she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He looked to the side and shrugged. 'What do you mean?'

'The case. Normally you're only too happy to tell me how you solved it but you've said nothing about it on the way home. All you did was make some joke about not being able to put arnica on my bruises because I'm ticklish.' She paused for a second. 'Which I'm not.'

'You are, Lisbon. For example, last Monday night when we were in bed-'

'Stop deflecting' Lisbon said, blushing.

He grinned and replied, 'Okay. You have two options. Number one I can tell you now what I did and you can get mad at me, probably for a couple of hours. Or number two, I can delay telling you until we go to work this afternoon where you'll still be mad at me but at least we'll have had a lovely morning.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Fine. But as soon as we're at work you better tell me everything.'

'Wise choice. Now, go get a shower and I'll get started on breakfast. Any orders?'

'Anything apart from scrambled eggs.'

Jane looked at her in horror.

She smiled, coming over and kissing him gently on the lips. 'That's all they served in prison. It's put me off them for a few days.'

He kissed her back, resisting the urge to forego breakfast and convince her she needed to lie down instead. 'Pancakes it is then.'

* * *

When she came back in she grinned at the stack of pancakes waiting for her. After pushing one onto her plate he poured maple syrup on top of it, making a pattern that looked convincingly like prison bars. He shrugged. 'I've heard getting out of prison can take some readjusting.'

She tucked in and replied, 'Well, you would know.'

After breakfast he put his arms around her again. He was being clingy and he knew it but Lisbon wasn't stopping him so he was going to take full advantage and felt she needed this as much as he did.

He kissed her softly. 'Bed?'

She smiled shyly and bit her lip. 'Jane, it's the middle of the morning.'

He took her hand. 'It's night time somewhere' he replied softly, leading her to the bedroom.

They kissed again there. It was full of tenderness and they took their time, savouring the feel of each other's lips again. 'I missed you so much' he said, his lips planting soft kisses down her collarbone.

'Me too' she replied, beginning to unbutton his shirt.

He sensed some nervousness in her and said, 'You okay? If you're too sore-'

She shook her head and stopped unbuttoning his shirt but rested her fingers on the next button she was going to open and twisted it. 'It's not that. It's just...it's just sometimes it hits me that we're really doing this. That this is really happening between us after all this time. It's kind of weird sometimes when I realise that.'

He nodded. He understood that feeling entirely. This was all so new it was the strangest feeling in the world sometimes to be so intimate with each other after so many years of burying those feelings away.

'I know. But good weird, right?'

She grinned. 'Very good weird.'

He supposed it would be like this for a little while longer but he looked forward to the day when it wasn't so strange, when they were more relaxed and at peace with this new arrangement. Until then though, 'good weird' wasn't a bad feeling at all.

\- THE END -

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**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read this, can't wait for the episode itself. **

**P.S. To all those readers following my other story Strained Relations, I haven't given up on it and hope to have the next chapter posted tomorrow or Thursday at the very latest. Just a lot of pre-Christmas painting to do at the moment that's leaving me too exhausted to write much!**


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